Share this story

PYONGYANG, North Korea - A Lynnwood missionary held captive in North Korea for nearly two years says his health is failing and he needs help.

Kenneth Bae and two other American captives were allowed to sit down for a exclusive interviews with foreign media reporters to talk about their health and treatment.

The reporters were on an official North Korean government tour outside Pyonyang when they were told to leave immediately to meet with a high-ranking government official.

They boarded a van and were told they were actually meeting with the three Americans, including Kenneth Bae. Each prisoner was given five minutes to speak with a reporter.

North Korean officials were present during the interviews, conducted separately and in different rooms, but did not censor the questions that were asked. The three said they did not know they were going to be interviewed until immediately beforehand.

Bae, 46, says he's doing farm-related work six days a week in a hard labor camp. He said he has lost 15 pounds and has severe back pain, along with a sleep disorder. His family has said his health problems include diabetes, an enlarged heart, liver problems and back pain. Bae asked his family to pray for him.

Bae was sentenced to 15 years in prison two years ago for what the North Korean government calls "hostile acts." He was leading a tour group at the time.

"I think I'm the American that's been here the longest since the Korean War, and I do believe that the sooner this gets resolved, the better for myself and for other Americans that may come here in the future as well," Bae said during the interview.

His family says he is not a spy - and they can only hope interviews like this may help keep the lines of communication open during this process.

Bae and the two other captive Americans called for the United States to send a high-ranking representative to negotiate for their freedom.

The other two, Jeffrey Fowle and Mathew Miller, said they expect to face trial within a month. But they said they do not know what punishment they could face or what the specific charges against them are.

All said they believe the only solution to their situation is for a U.S. representative to come to North Korea to make a direct appeal.

That has often been North Korea's bargaining chip in the past, when senior statesmen including former President Bill Clinton made trips to Pyongyang to secure the release of detainees.

North Korea says Fowle and Miller committed hostile acts which violated their status as tourists. It has announced that authorities are preparing for the trial, but has not announced the date.

Fowle arrived in North Korea on April 29. He is suspected of leaving a Bible in a nightclub in the northern port city of Chongjin. Christian proselytizing is considered a crime in North Korea. Fowle, 56, lives in Miamisburg, Ohio, where he works in a city streets department. He has a wife and three children aged 9, 10, and 12.

"Within a month I could be sharing a jail cell with Ken Bae," he said, adding that he hasn't spoken with his family for three weeks. "I'm desperate to get back to them."

North Korea says Miller, 24, entered the country on April 10 with a tourist visa, but tore it up at the airport and shouted that he wanted to seek asylum. Miller refused to comment on whether he was seeking asylum.

Bae, a 46-year-old Korean-American missionary, has been held since November 2012. He was moved from a work camp to a hospital because of failing health and weight loss but last month was sent back to the work camp outside of Pyongyang, where he said he does farm-related labor. He said he has lost 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) and has severe back pain, along with a sleep disorder. His family has said his health problems include diabetes, an enlarged heart, liver problems and back pain.

"The only hope that I have is to have someone from the U.S. come," he said. "But so far, the latest I've heard is that there has been no response yet. So I believe that officials here are waiting for that."

Bae said he did not realize before the trial that he was violating North Korean law, but refused to go into details.

He said the lead up to his trial lasted about four months, but the trial itself only took about an hour. He said he elected not to have a defense attorney because "at that point there was no sense of me to get a lawyer because the only chance I had was to ask for mercy."

"It was very quick," he said.

The U.S. has repeatedly offered to send its envoy for North Korean human rights issues, Robert King, to Pyongyang to seek a pardon for Bae and other U.S. detainees, but without success. Washington has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and no embassy in Pyongyang. Instead, the Swedish Embassy takes responsibility for U.S. consular affairs.

Fowle and Miller said they have met with the Swedish ambassador and have been allowed to make phone calls to their relatives.

Though a small number of U.S. citizens visit North Korea each year as tourists, the State Department strongly advises against it.

North Korea has been strongly pushing tourism lately in an effort to bring in foreign cash. But despite its efforts it remains highly sensitive to any actions it considers political and is particularly wary of anything it deems to be Christian proselytizing.